Oct
21
Keeping An Open Mind To Religion
It is very important to consider different perspectives when we’re trying to develop ourselves so that we can see the same thing from multiple angles and get a larger understanding of what that object is. To that end, I have spent the past year or two learning about the one thing that appear to be the antithesis of logical thinking - religion.
Interestingly enough, after a year of asking Christians their viewpoints on various topics, it actually appears to be a very good way of living. There are many constructs built into the religion itself that are very synergetic and promotes healthy relationships. Ultimately though, there is one major stumbling block that I haven’t heard a convincing explanation for yet.
First, let’s take a look at some of the synergetic constructs:
Good Parts About Christianity
Church
Allows people to gather together on a regular basis and talk with each other. It’s a life long activity that people will always have in common. From The Key To A Healthy Relationship, we know that such activities can be a strong binding force when people have problems or disagreements. It allows people to commit to a cause and overcome the minute differences.
Praying
If there’s any one thing you should know, it’s that we become what we think about. This is the major theme of books like Think And Growth Rich and is prevelant in almost all literature (and it’s absolutely true!!). Praying allows people to focus their thoughts on the desired results on a regular basis. That way, they never lose sight of their goals or what they want most.
Small Groups
On a regular basis, people meet to share inner parts of themselves with each other. If there’s one thing that I greatly admire about Christianity, it’s that people are extremely open to sharing parts of themselves. In my experience, people at church are quite open-minded and tend to be very accepting. It allows people to deeply connect, allowing people to have a sense of companionship.
The Bible
People are given a purpose to fulfill. This can become a pillar of strength in a lot of people’s lives. From How To Stop Hurt Feelings From Dating, we can see that it’s very important to have an identity apart from your relationships with other people. It helps you cope with situations where you are alone (which there always will be). You can often hear devout Christians reciting, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me”.
Questionable Parts About Christianity
The one part that just doesn’t make sense to me though, is the whole concept of heaven and not heaven. For some reason, there is a positive association with being closer to God, as there is love and all that. However, why should there be a negative connotation associated with separation from God? There seems to be the implication that being apart from God is somehow a bad thing, which just doesn’t make sense. I get a distinct sense of, “If you don’t do what I tell you to do, you’ll end up in this really bad place!” Would a person who unconditionally loves you force you to be with them? No! They should let you do what you want to do, and be there for you when you want them.
Of course, all that is theoretical. Why should we care what people think about heaven and hell? Well, I’ve found that this attitude seems to trickle down into the actual attitudes of people. I have heard (and personally experienced) many cases where Christians seem to feel they are superior in some way because they are walking the “path of God”. In fact, throughout history, there have been times when this opposition has been so strong that there were crusades against non-Christians.
That is pretty dark for a religion that values unconditional love.
Of course, this doesn’t mean all the Christians I’ve met are like this. In fact, some of the most interesting people I’ve met are Ivy League engineers who are Christians. They have found their own interpretations which I find fascinating to listen to.
Ultimately though, I simply cannot accept that separation from God is a bad thing. Isn’t that basically kind of how Earth is right now?
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Hello, I’m from the INTJ Anon group on Facebook, and I’ve been subscribed to your blog for many months.
This topic is somewhat close to home for me. I was raised Christian but I became non-religious in high school. Because of this I often feel like a stranger in a foreign land (or perhaps that’s because I’m an INTJ, haha).
My problem with Christianity is not with the way of life - as you have pointed out, it can be very positive - but with the underlying assumptions. It doesn’t just prescribe ways of living, it also makes specific claims about reality, few of which I think are firmly grounded. Faith is said to be enough of a justification for the beliefs, and it is often touted as a virtue. This baffles me, as faith is not a reliable way to gain objective knowledge (this is could be a whole other topic to itself).
Ultimately, I’m not sure how pratical it is to weigh pros and cons when the truth claims made are unverified (and perhaps unverifiable).
C.S. Lewis was also an INTJ, I’ve heard. Have you read any of his stuff?
Josh: I’ve thought about that for quite a bit too. Ultimately though, I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference what people say they believe in but rather what they do as a result of those beliefs that matter.
Someone can claim that pebbles are alive and holy, but as long as they create value for society, hey, great, pebbles are alive. Perhaps, the underlying assumptions aren’t nearly as important as the effect of adopting that set of beliefs. After all, no matter what frame of refernce you take, there will always be underlying assumptions (just keep asking why, and eventually you’ll need to assume something).
While those things are, as you said, unverifiable, the results of those beliefs are quite verifiable, and I think that’s what’s more important here.
Andrea: Hmmm, yeah I’m quite well aware of that, although I haven’t read much beyond the Chronicles of Narnia. Thanks for reminding me though, I’ll put some of his stuff on my list
Hello! As a Christian, and former atheist and agnostic, and I want to answer your questionable parts of the Christianity. I’m not going to criticise the people who label themselves “Christians” (who often it seems, does not act very “Christ-like”, unbiblicallly even), but I’ll go straight to the source.
To really understand the origins of the heaven/hell/God concept, one has to read the book of Genesis. This is where the story of Adam and Eve comes in.
Before anyone asks - I absolutely do not believe in the literal Adam and Eve account, but I do believe it in a metaphorical sense.
Genesis describes what we Christians believe is truth - that the state of the world is corrupt and evil, etc. and that, even though God saves us, we turn away from him.
Now, get this: The reason why I didn’t become a Christian any earlier is because I simply did not understand these concepts.
For the Christian belief is that we people, even Christians themselves, are generally wicked people, not able to uphold the law perfectly, or that people have the tendancy to get away whatever they can. And I agree - around the world, there are murderers, thieves, and even crimes like poverty, corruption of Government, etc. A quote from the bible: “No one is good. Not even one.” (Romans 3:10)
And so, given that, the idea of “sin” comes in: And you know what? The very definition of “sin” means, the “separation of God”!
Through a guy named Jesus, he has shown people what God is really like: that God is perfect in goodness. And thus, for those people who want to be like God, so that they could get rid of that state of sin are those who we now call “Christians”.
Now, there are a lot of questions, but let me reassure you, there are plenty of answers on the net, but it’s not my prerogative to give you those answers: It’s something that one must search for themselves.
I’ll also talk about things that have left you puzzled:
No, Christians, by their very definition, according to the bible, should NEVER EVER feel superior than anyone else. That’s an absolute No-No. Unfortunately, this is an attitude I find commonly in America. But, gratefully no where else.
I can’t support the crusades, but biblical Christians were always about peace. That means, no war.
And yes, I can guess you’re right about the separation of God right now, if you have read all of the above. Hopefully that makes things clearer
i loved what you said about the heavan and hell part. you really got it there. great work
Very well reasoned, if the love is unconditional, why should there be any kind of forcing?
To be able to understand the issues you have raised,you need to have travlled quite abit in christianity and its values. Ultimately,its all about valuea and guidance for a simple and fruitful life which is accessed through connection with God and your inner self. For me what I understand and have come to expereince is that when I pray and follow the spiritual lwas of christianity automatically my life is balanced.Iam able to focus on my life’s purpose and those of the people in my life ina calm and positive way and connect with my inner compas. Conversely,when i disconnect from the essence of christianity and God I automatically focus on my own needs and lose direction sooner or later and my life stops having anymeaning. So its a lifestyle and achoice and guidelines given by a loving Father and the wanrings are that if you do not connect with youralef and me as your father and maker,you run the ever present risk of losing direction and this is as good as death while still alive and brings personl sufferings and loss and deprives you of your inner peace and if you do not have this you cannot affect yourself let alone anyone else.
In regards to the Heaven and Hell part.
I agree that the world is separated from God. As to whether that is a bad thing would depend on your point of view. Most people who are suffering and dying on the world today would probably tell you that it is bad or that there is bad in it. Now I don’t think that the entire world is bad, just that it is corrupted, and is thus a tarnished version of its former glory.
Now when you die you are supposed to go to one of two places for all eternity. I’ve had it explained to me that God is love (1John 4:8). His love is unconditional and he will always love earth and the people on it unconditionally, but his love is different from having a relationship with him. To have a relationship with God comes with certain preconditions; one of them being that you have to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and ect. To go to Heaven is for those who repent and believe in Jesus (I’ll admit off the bat I’m not an expert here). For those who decided that they would rather not have a relationship with God, they are supposed to go to Hell. Now how do you reconcile that with an all-loving God? I think that Hell is just a seperation from God. But God is love, so how wonderful do you think existence would be without love? Maybe Hell is jsut a place where there is absolutely no relationship with God and no form of love whatsoever. Its horrible enough to feel unloved and insecure about yourself here on earth, maybe it would be absolutely terrifying to feel that way for all eternity?
Anyways, just my thoughts (how did I find my self on this blog anyways? O_o?? lol)
This religion seems like a form of brainwashing.
Everyones greatest fears are death. So being a christian you give your self a chance to live after death. Anyone that beleives that you dont fallow the ways of god your going to hell your insaine. If god loves everyone unconditonally, why would he send someone to hell that could of grown up on a island or somewhere that dosent even no of religion? I dont know much on this topic considering the fact ive been to church twice. But i do have some opinions that can poke holes in religion. Yes christianity does seem great i mean if your mind believes it knows that god is real, when u do prey you will feal something, before you die you know your going to heaven. But what if christianty is the wrong religion and someother religion was the right one to fallow.
Most of friends are christians and i love them all. However i get so pissed when i think of what christianity has done to civilization.
For 600 to 1,000 years christianity held back science. This is known as the dark ages. No inventions, no progress. Nothing. To even speak of a new idea is blaspheme a fate that befell Galileo Galilei, and so many others. Two thousand years ago it was commonly believed that the universe was teaming with life but christianity took that away from us. How arrogant. We should be living among the stars by now.
And then there are all those other religions that have been terribly victimized by christianity. Such is the case with voodoo and witchcraft. NEVER, NEVER has there been a devil, a satan are any evil what so ever in these religions. They both do nothing more than utilize the elements and forces of nature in harmony with goodwill for all life. Two thousand years later the christians would still have you believe that you will burn in hell forever if you do not give up your wicked ways or wicker and do as “The Good Book” says. It seems christianity will tolerate nothing but christianity.
Then there’s the Bible a book that’s been rerereedited and it seems to blame all of mans short comings on women. Sounds like a book that was written by MEN from a couture that enjoys belittling women. Such as the middle-east. The truth never changes yet the Bible has. For example a few years back the Pope took it upon himself to change Mary Magdalene’s profession. She’s no longer a prostitute.
But don’t get me wrong i Believe in Christ and in the Christ consciousness. i believe Christ is a fully self-realized person and through self-realization he new God personally. This is the Christ consciousness.
How can there be a heaven and hell ?
If i go to heaven because i believe in Christ but the people that i love go to hell because they believe in Buddha then that would make the christian heaven my personal hell. The hole concept just doe’s not work.
The Ten Commandments written in stone. Has anybody ever seen them? No. Stone writing has been going on for i don’t know say 100,000 years. And yet the ones God wrote only 2,000 years ago are gone. A massage directly from God himself to Moses for all of mankind to live by as law. Never made it to the first city, it never made it out of the desert, never seen by a human eyes. Story has it after receiving the tablets from God Moses came down form the mountain where he found his followers already worshipping a bronzes bull are some deity and in a fit of rage right there on the spot he smashes Gods laws.
Come on now! Really.
After that God is going to for the next forty years let Moses lead his people to the promise land when he can’t be trusted with a rock.
And one more thing…
Is Christ Gods only begotten son or are we all Gods children?
What did Christ come from the divine semen while the rest of us is something God more or less pissed out?
As far as heaven and hell, we don’t go to heaven because we’re good or hell because we’re bad. And a person doesn’t go to hell simply because they lived on some island somewhere and never heard of Jesus. They go to hell because they violated God’s law. God gave us a conscience. We know right from wrong. Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever used God’s name in vain? If you’ve done these things, even just once, you’ve broken three of the 10 Commandments (God’s law). The Bible says that sin is breaking God’s law. It even says that if you’ve only broken on of His commands it’s as if you’ve broken them all. If you break civic (human) law, what happens? You get punished. The higher you go with the authorities the greater the punishment. If I lie to the kid down the street he won’t like me. If I lie to my wife I sleep on the couch for a few days. If I lie to a policeman I could get a ticket. If I lie to a supreme court judge I could go to jail for a very long time. The punishment gets bigger as the authority gets greater. God is the greatest authority. The Bible tells us that He loves us, but He also loves goodness and justice. He will judge all of us someday. If a judge is good he will make sure justice is served. God is good so He must punish us for breaking His law. And since He’s the greatest Judge and Authority we should expect the punishment to fit the crime. Hell is not mere separation from God, but it’s described as a place of fire, weeping and darkness. If it were only separation from God then it would be no different from my experience before I became a Christian. I’m not one of those people who can say I was unhappy before I became a Christian. If hell is only separation from God, most people would say, “so what? It will be no different from Earth.” I was very happy in my sins, but it was because I didn’t realize the effect they were going to have on my soul. Now I see the truth and I regret so many things I’ve done. But we’re truly blessed because God loves us so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins and if we repent (that is ask for forgiveness and turn from the sin we were once doing) and trust in Jesus, God’s Son, rather than ourselves for our salvation we will be saved and spend eternity with Him in heaven. Awesome!
Im thinking of moving back to Christianity but what worries me is things like the law has made it illegal to chastise a child pysically which is right. However my past experiences with fellow Christains is that they preach love and kindness at church, then they invite me say for a meal at their home, and then wallop their children for being naughty and sinfull.When I questioned this they threw “spare the rod and spoil the child” at me. Even Jesus is supposed to have said ” if anyone so much as harms a child then he will be doomed for eternity” (or words to that effect) You can email me at triffiks@googlemail.com if you wish to comment directly too me. I had 2 daughters they are very well behaved and my ex and I never smacked them apart from One occaiosion when the youngest for some reason was hysterical and tried to attack someone.We used to reason with them and even from a young age, it worked. Or we made a small game showing them why something was wrong.
Ok. I just have one problem. You all say that if it’s unconditional love it shoudnt be forced. I agree 100%. But, were I dissagree is God is not forcing you to love him. It’s like your father telling you to go mow the grass. Do you have to mow the grass? You could choose not to and run away. You don’t HAVE to mow the grass. No one makes you do anything, you do. God is saying love me. Now you make the decision to love him or you make the dicision not to. So if you said you wernt going to mow the grass your father will most likley punish you , just like God with heaven/hell. He is not forcing you